VOA慢速英语2020--著名华盛顿红人队将改名

A Famous Washington Sports Team to Change Its Name

The professional American football team in Washington, D.C. announced Monday it will retire the name "Redskins" and the mascot¹ of a Native American.

The team has not selected a new name. But it dropped the name, given to the team since 1933, after years of protests. Critics say the name is offensive to Native Americans.

Ray Halbritter is leading the campaign against the offensive name. He praised the National Football League (NFL) and the team's owner, Dan Snyder. He said, "I know that's not an easy thing to do, but it was the right thing to do."

The announcement comes as major sponsors have asked the team to change its name. One of those sponsors is FedEx. The shipping² company paid for its name to be used in connection with the team's stadium, which is in Landover, Maryland.

The company paid $205 million in 1999 for the right to name the stadium. In addition, the sports company Nike and other companies say they have withdrawn³ products linked to the team. The move could cost the team millions of dollars. Other companies requesting a change in the team's name include food company PepsiCo and Bank of America.

In addition, the Associated Press reported that 15 Native American leaders and organizations wrote to NFL Commissioner⁴ Roger Goodell last week. They demanded that the team immediately end the use of the name, Redskins.

The groups and individuals said they expect the NFL to become involved in a "meaningful reconciliation⁵ process." The Native American movement leaders, tribes and organizations said they want the sports organization to repair years of, what they called, "emotional violence" and other harms that the "team name has caused to Native Peoples."

The AP says the letter was sent on the same day that President Donald Trump⁶ tweeted about two sports teams with Native American mascots⁷. Trump said the Washington Redskins and the Cleveland Indians baseball team "look like they are going to be changing their names in order to be politically correct."

The Washington team is among the oldest professional football teams in the United States having been in operation since the 1930s.

A spirited debate over the name "Redskins" has gone on for many years. Team owner Dan Snyder has resisted changing the name since he bought the team in 1999.

Among professional sports teams, the Cleveland Indians removed the Chief Wahoo image from their official uniform after the 2018 season. Major League Baseball's Atlanta Braves and the National Hockey League's Chicago Blackhawks have said they have no plans to change their names.

Supporters of the change, however, would like to see all Native American names, mascots and image out of sports. "Our fight continues," Crystal Echo Hawk⁸ said. She noted⁹ that her group, IllumiNative¹⁰, wanted all names, mascots and images of Native Americans removed from professional, collegiate and other school sports.

Sports teams that have removed Native American mascots have mainly been linked to universities and colleges. Stanford University in California says it officially changed its mascot from the "Indian" to the "Cardinal¹¹" in 1972.

More recently, the University of Illinois removed Chief Illiniwek as its official mascot in 2007 although its sports teams are still called the Fighting Illini. The word Illini is meant to describe Native American people and is tied to the name of the state of Illinois.

Halbritter said it was important to note some names are not offensive. He pointed¹² out that Florida State University spoke¹³ with the Seminole tribe about its name.

"I think it's striking that the NFL and other owners of other sports teams don't have a conversation with Native America on these names," Halbritter said. "It's about respect, and I don't understand why they just don't have a conversation with the affected¹⁴ people."

I'm Mario Ritter, Jr.

Words in This Story

sponsor –n. a person or group that pays money in return for the right to advertise during an event or activity

reconciliation –n. the act or process of getting two groups to become friendly after a disagreement or argument

mascot –n. a person, animal or object that represents an organization, such as a sports team or school, and that is meant to bring good luck

uniform –n. special clothing that is worn by all members of an organization such as an armed service, police, profession or sports team

1 mascot   

n.福神，吉祥的东西

参考例句：

• The football team's mascot is a goat.足球队的吉祥物是山羊。
• We had a panda as our mascot.我们把熊猫作为吉详物。

2 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

3 withdrawn   

vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出

参考例句：

• Our force has been withdrawn from the danger area.我们的军队已从危险地区撤出。
• All foreign troops should be withdrawn to their own countries.一切外国军队都应撤回本国去。

4 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

5 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

6 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

7 mascots   

n.吉祥物( mascot的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• One of the mascots was the platypus. 吉祥物一是鸭嘴兽。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Information on all things Olympic, including logos, mascots, venues,and bid candidates. 所有事情奥林匹克，包括的标识语，吉祥物，地点，和出价候选人的信息。 来自互联网

8 hawk   

n.鹰，骗子；鹰派成员

参考例句：

• The hawk swooped down on the rabbit and killed it.鹰猛地朝兔子扑下来,并把它杀死。
• The hawk snatched the chicken and flew away.老鹰叼了小鸡就飞走了。

9 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

10 illuminative   

adj.照明的，照亮的，启蒙的

参考例句：

• Yan Fu is China's latter-day and famous illuminative ideologist. 严复是中国近代著名的启蒙思想家。 来自互联网
• Usage in thermal places where range of household appliance, illuminative lamps, industrial machinesarc operated. 适用于各种电子电器、照明灯具、工业机器、电热制品等高温场所的绝缘保护。 来自互联网

11 cardinal   

n.(天主教的)红衣主教；adj.首要的，基本的

参考例句：

• This is a matter of cardinal significance.这是非常重要的事。
• The Cardinal coloured with vexation. 红衣主教感到恼火，脸涨得通红。

12 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

13 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

14 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。